


The Asset and Life Skills

by Introvertatheart



Series: The Asset's New Life [15]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Anger Management, Bucky learns some life skills, M/M, Toothbrushing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-03
Updated: 2019-11-07
Packaged: 2021-01-21 13:35:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,590
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21300290
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Introvertatheart/pseuds/Introvertatheart
Summary: Steve notices that Bucky needs to learn some new things coming days after Halloween. Bucky doesn't like learning new things, but he has to learn.
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Steve Rogers
Series: The Asset's New Life [15]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1343575
Comments: 2
Kudos: 40





	1. Toothbrushing

**Author's Note:**

> I intentionally planned this having more than five parts, but I decided on focusing one chapter on him learning something after Halloween. Then another on him learning to control his emotions.

The days after Halloween probably had to be the best and worst days for dentists. Days with kids coming in with cavities screaming probably wasn't pleasant, but it is extra money and a great opportunity for kids to learn that a dentist wasn't a fun place.

Steve did his best to make sure he rubbed Bucky's teeth in the mornings and before bed time. But now even he could tell the wet towel wasn't enough. Especially with Bucky eating a lollipop two or three times a day. So before Bucky got a cavity, he asked Bruce is it okay for him to start on toothpaste.

He replied yes.

Steve asked Natasha to go out and get a toothbrush and toothpaste safe for toddlers early in the morning. She left the bag outside of the door with a note saying 'good luck with this :)'. He needed all the luck he could get.

After Bucky woke up and had breakfast, he immediately requested a lollipop. Steve still hated that Stark gave him so much. So to prevent Bucky from taking without asking, he hid them and only gave them when he did good things around the apartment.

"Daddy?"

"Yes?"

"Lolli, please?"

"Go put your bowl in the sink and go grab a wet napkin so you can wipe down the table." Said Steve. Bucky groaned at command but did put his bowl in the sink and got a wet napkin to wipe the table.

"You have to do more than just the edges, bud, get to the middle." Bucky hated this. This was a new thing he had to do and he hated it. Why couldn't he just get the lolli? 

"Done."

"Yes, that looks good. Here you go." Steve gave the lollipop. Bucky went to the couch and put it in his mouth. Of course, he started to drool around it. Harley put her front paws on the couch and sniffed Bucky's mouth.

"No, Harley down." Commanded Steve. Harley got down and sat by his feet. Harley was also finding the opportunity to start licking Bucky's face when he drooled. Steve doesn't know when or why she thinks she is his mother and has to wipe his face when he drooled but it was gross and definitely needed to stop. Bucky didn't really care that Harley was in his face as long as she didn't touch his lolli.

When Bucky finished his candy, he drank his milk and Steve brought him in the bathroom.

"Okay, we're going to try something new with teeth brushing time." Bucky started to whine. Whenever they tried something new, he didn't like it. 

"Okay, this is a toothbrush and this is toothpaste. So instead of the towel, we can use this."

"Chase."

"Yes. Hopefully that will motivate you a little." Steve wet the toothbrush and put a little toothpaste on it.

"Okay, open." Bucky opened his mouth.

"You hold it like this and you move it back and forth then left to right then back and forth again." Bucky tilted his head. Steve got Bucky's hand and put the toothbrush in his hand. 

"Just like this." Steve moved the toothbrush around his mouth. Bucky shook his head around and bit the brush.

"I know it feels weird. It doesn't hurt, right?" 

"No hurt."

"Okay, it'll take some getting used to. But you need to start learning how to brush your teeth." Bucky stared at the brush then bit it. Steve tried to get the brush out his mouth but he really had a grip on it.

"Bucky, let go." Bucky let go of the brush and left the bathroom. Steve rinsed the brush and put it in the cup. It was a good first try. Steve just hoped the toothbrush would be able to last his biting.

After a long needed nap, Steve went to go get Bucky only to find that he wasn't in the bed. He checked under the bed and in the closet. He wasn't in the room.

"Bucky? Harley?" Then he heard giggling from the bathroom. That was odd. He went in the bathroom and saw Bucky sitting on the floor with toothpaste all on the floor. Harley immediately walked out when the door was open, he didn't blame her, it recked of mint. Steve saw that his adult toothpaste tube was empty and decorated the floor and on his hands and hair. The toddler toothpaste was empty, but it didn't look to be anywhere. Steve was completely stunned, Bucky has never done this even with his adult toothpaste.

"Buck, what did you do with your toothpaste?"

"Yummy." He ate it. He ate a full tube of toothpaste. Steve blinked away the shock and got his phone. First, he took a picture then called Nat while he got Bucky up.

"Yes, Rogers?"

"I need you and Rumlow over here."

"Is Bucky alright?"

"He's done something weird and I don't know what to do." 

"Okay, we're coming." She hung up. Steve looked at Bucky who was drooling excessively. He smelled of fruit and mint and Steve didn't know what do. 

Five minutes later, Nat and Rumlow came. They looked at Bucky, who was still drooling and playing with the toothpaste in his hair.

"What did he do?" Asked Nat looking at his hair.

"I was going to go get him from his nap, he wasn't in bed. I heard him in the bathroom and I saw him sitting in there covered in my toothpaste. And I think he ate his."

"You ate a full tube of toothpaste?" Asked Rumlow stunned.

"Yummy." Bucky smiled.

"Your breath smells fruity." Said Rumlow.

"It was fruity flavored. Honey, you can't eat that stuff. You're lucky I got one that was safe to swallow."

"You should go see the bathroom." Said Steve. Rumlow and Nat went to the bathroom then came back shocked. Bucky saw their faces and laughed.

"Kid, that's not funny. Did you eat any of daddy's?" Asked Rumlow.

"Yucky."

"Okay and what do you want us to do?"

"Is he going to be okay?"

"Yeah, people who make toddler toothpaste know that they tend to eat things when it taste good. So its okay to eat, I would be more worried if he ate your toothpaste." Said Nat. Bucky was still playing with his sticky, minty hair.

"Okay, how about you two go clean him up and I'll go get him another toothpaste that won't be so yummy." Nat left. Steve and Rumlow looked at Bucky.

"Alright, let's go clean up." Said Steve. Bucky made grabby hands at him. He wanted to be picked up.

"No. You'll be in timeout after we clean you up." Said Steve. Bucky whined then turned to Rumlow.

"Sorry kid, his rules." Said Rumlow. Bucky cried and started to scream. He kicked out at Steve and bit his arm. Steve came behind him and held his arm behind him.

"Relax and take a deep breath." Said Steve. Bucky stopped screaming but didn't relax. Bucky started to growl, Harley laid on his legs and licked his hand. Rumlow crouched in front of Bucky and touched his face.

"Calm down, everything is alright. You know what you did was bad. Didn't you?" Asked Rumlow. Bucky nodded. "And you know when you do bad things, you get a time out. So don't be upset about it." Bucky took a deep breath then he smiled.

"Say sorry to daddy."

"Sowwy daddy."

"It's alright, now we're going to the bathroom and we're going to clean up the mess and your hair. Okay?" Bucky nodded. He stood up and went with them to the bathroom. They cleaned up the toothpaste, Steve washed Bucky's hair, to which he didn't like.

After the hair washing and Rumlow and Bucky wrestling each other, Nat came back with toddler toothpaste that didn't have flavor and a few baby locks and another tube for Steve.

"Okay, you put these on doors that hold dangerous liquids, like bleach. I'm upset that you didn't get these earlier. But lock up those detergents before he makes himself sick and lock up the medicine cabinet. You too, Rumlow." 

"He wouldn't do that around me."

"Toddlers are smarter than you think. If that stuff isn't locked up properly, he'll eat it. Unless you want him to drink laundry detergent?"

"No, I'll buy the locks. You are such a trouble maker." Said Rumlow tickling his stomach. Bucky laughed and chewed on his necklace.

"We'll if you don't need us anymore, we'll get going." Said Nat.

"Wait, are you two together or something?"

"Don't get hit Rogers." Said Nat.

"Papa loves daddy." Bucky laughed.

"Bucky." Said Rumlow leaving with Nat. Steve smiled then looked at Bucky who was staring at him. 

"You know what you need to do right?"

"Lolli?"

"Time out, now. Twenty minutes." Bucky groaned and sat in his corner. Steve didn't even consider that Bucky would start to put stuff in his mouth if it smelled sweet. His laundry detergent smelled sweet and if Bucky got into that and got sick, he wouldn't forgive himself. Steve put the dishwashing soap in a cabinet and locked it. He went in the laundry room and locked the detergent in a cabinet. He also locked up the medicine cabinet with the toothpaste. Steve now felt a little better than he did a couple of hours ago.

Twenty minutes later, Bucky was done with his punishment. He snuggled with Steve. 

"You still smell minty, Buck." 

"Yucky."

"You're not yucky, just silly." He said rubbing their foreheads together.

"You silly."

"I didn't eat a full tube of toothpaste, you little joker." Steve tickled his sides, Bucky laughed and got on the floor to escape the tickles. 

"Daddy, lolli."

"Not now. You don't need anymore sweets for a while." Bucky groaned and got up. He went in the kitchen and noticed the locks on the cabinet. These weren't here before, or were they? He didn't remember.

"Bucky, what are you doing?" Said Steve getting up. Bucky sat down in front of the locks and tried to get it off. It wouldn't budge. He did smell something sweet, he needed to get to that.

"Stop it." In that cabinet was his lollipops. Steve might have to double lock that. Bucky looked like he wanted to bite it, but Steve picked him up from the floor before he could.

"Do you want a snack?" Bucky nodded. Steve poured a bowl of goldfish. Steve was about to sit him at the table, but Bucky shook his head.

"What do I say about food on the couch?"

"Please?" Steve couldn't say no to his blue eyes. Bucky always had that advantage over him. Steve let him eat on the couch. They watched a movie for the rest of the afternoon. 

Soon it was dinner time, it was pasta night. The messiest night. Sauce and noddles always found their way into Bucky's hair. Steve could only laugh as Bucky ate the pasta. He did eat the pasta but most of it just ended up on the table. 

"Alright, my messy boy. Let's go clean up." Steve was glad he took his shirt off, red sauce stains weren't needed.

"Lolli, please." 

"Go clean the table." Steve gave him a wet napkin. Bucky cleaned the edges then the full table after Steve told him to. Steve picked him up and brought him in the bathroom. After a relatively calm bath time, it was time for teethbrushing.

"Let's try this again." Steve started to brush his teeth. Bucky frowned then tried to get away. 

"Yucky."

"It doesn't have flavor and that's a good thing, now you won't be so tempted to eat it. And you can learn how to brush your teeth." Bucky didn't like it.

"How about you follow what daddy does?" Steve got his toothbrush and toothpaste. Steve had to put on the toothpaste for him.

"Alright, put your brush under the water." Steve put his under the water, Bucky watched him then put his brush under the water.

"Good. Now start here and move back and forth." Steve started to brush in the back, Bucky followed him. They moved towards the middle then towards the back again.

"You're doing so good. Now open and do it again." They brushed again. 

"Good now spit in there." Steve spit first. Bucky was trying to swallow.

"No, out." Bucky tried to spit it out. Then he coughed it up.

"We'll work on that part." Steve rinsed his mouth and got a small cup of water for Bucky.

"You can swallow that." Bucky swallowed then licked around his mouth. Steve wiped his mouth with a towel then brought him the bedroom.

"This was much better. I still can't believe you ate that toothpaste." Said Steve changing him. Bucky giggled. Steve tickled his stomach causing him to laugh.

"You still have so much to learn. But you're only two and a fast learner." Steve kissed his head and tucked him in bed. Bucky fell asleep quickly, Steve stroked his hair and sighed. Bucky was a fast learner and was very clever. So now Steve constantly had to watch him. He knew Bucky would eventually try to break those locks. He just hoped Bucky had enough sense to try not to eat or drink something that he wasn't supposed to. But as always Bucky was very unpredictable and that scared him. At least now he had a new screensaver.


	2. Anger management

When Bucky came to Steve, he only knew what Rumlow had taught him. Which wasn't a lot.

As time went on, he learned so much in a matter of months. The word no was being used more aggressively, but that was just stubborn Bucky showing his face. Bucky learned to say please and thank you with some prompting. His therapist loved the strides he had made, but there was always set backs. 

As Bucky was discovering his emotions, he fell into meltdowns and tantrums quickly. Anger was, obviously, the most violent and Bucky sometimes doesn't remember why he had the meltdown. Steve always had to restrain him and talk him down. When Steve asked him what upset him, he didn't remember. Sadness also played a big factor. It could either make him very fussy and throw him into a tantrum or he became super clingy.

After a few therapy sessions, Dr. Nicole recommended that he start trying to write out how he feels. And they quickly realized that Bucky didn't like to write at all. So during this week's session, they worked on anger management.

Bucky was in a mood today. Getting out the apartment had been a struggle. Getting in the car was a fight. Now he didn't want to get out the car.

"Bucky, come on, we're going to be late."

"No." Steve tried all he could to get Bucky out the car. But he was being extremely stubborn today. Then he reached inside his bag.

"Want a lollipop?" Bucky nodded and got out of the car. They went inside and sat in their room. Steve gave him the lollipop and watched him play with the stuffed animals.

"Good morning, guys. Everything alright?" Said Dr. Nicole coming in.

"Someone is being extra stubborn today. Took us ten minutes to get out out of the apartment and another twenty to get in here."

"Alright. I brought some writing books. You think he'll be up to learning to trace the alphabet?"

"I don't know."

"Hey, Bucky, how has your day been?" Bucky looked at her then shook his head.

"Did something bad happen?" Bucky shook his head again and got the stuffed dog from the bin.

"Bucky, I can't help if you don't talk about it." She said. Bucky stared at her then he shook his head.

"What's wrong?"

"No." 

"Bucky, talking is good. Remember how we express what we feel." Bucky was shaking. Steve was bothered that something had upset Bucky and he didn't know. Dr. Nicole sighed and sat in front of him.

"Stop, please."

"We can take a small break." Bucky sat in his corner and played with his animals. Dr. Nicole got up and sat by Steve.

"Was he like this all morning?"

"He was just being stubborn today, I didn't know it was something more than that."

"From what I know from working with kids, their stubbornness can get mixed up with being angry at something. But also Bucky is just rediscovering his own emotions, so right now we could be seeing anger and stubborn. And I'm pretty sure if I ask him what has him upset, he won't know why."

"So he can get angry and not even know why?" Dr. Nicole nodded and looked at Bucky who was drooling on his shirt. She got a couple of napkins and sat in front of him.

"Can I wipe your face?" She asked. Bucky shook his head. "Can you wipe your face?" Bucky shook his head again and pushed her arm away.

"No."

"Bucky."

"NO!" 

"Bucky take a deep breath." Said Dr. Nicole. Bucky got in his corner and threw the stuffed pony at Dr. Nicole.

"Okay, don't throw. Let's back up. What's upsetting you?" Bucky stared at her, then shook his head again.

"Are you shaking your head because you don't know?" Bucky got a stuffed cat and threw it at her.

"Bucky, stop throwing things and answer her question." Said Steve. Bucky didn't make any eye contact with her, which only meant he didn't want to talk anymore.

"I think you don't know why you're upset. I know people just wake up in a bad mood, but in your case, you're upset at something and you don't know why. Sound right?" Bucky slightly looked up at her. 

"So this emotion is called anger. Anger is the opposite of happy. And sometimes when you feel sad, you can get angry. Do you get upset when daddy takes away your tablet?"

"Yes."

"I would be too. But we have to learn how to control that so that it doesn't lead to you having a bad day. Nobody wants to be angry for a whole day, that's no fun. Right Steve?" 

"No, it's not." Said Steve.

"See, is that something you want to start working on?" Bucky looked at her and nodded. Dr. Nicole rubbed his knee and helped him up.

"Can you go put those back, please?" She pointed to the toys. Bucky picked up the toys and put them back in the corner. Dr. Nicole sighed and wrote a few things in her book. 

"How often is he having meltdowns?"

"Uh, I want to say twice a week sometimes three if he's in a bad mood."

"Have you thought about giving him medication?"

"I rather not. He's already on medication for the seizures. And it's hard enough to get him to take those at night."

"My concern is that the soldier's rage is trying to show and Bucky can't control that."

"I didn't even think about the soldier. You really think it's the soldier's rage?"

"Bucky never had an issue with anger when we started therapy. And after observing most of the sessions and one of his meltdowns, I can pretty much see this being the soldier expressing himself and Bucky doesn't understand it."

"Wow."

"That's why I recommend the medication."

"I understand, but I rather for Bucky to learn how to control his emotions before we start putting him on medications."

"Alright, I want to try something new. This is a behavior chart. For the rest of this week, I want you to document his behavior. If he has a good day, he gets a star on that day. Tantrums gets a sunny cloudy sticker. If he has a bad day with a meltdown, he gets a rain cloud. If he has a meltdown, write down what set him off next to the day. If it just happens for no cause, leave a question mark."

"Alright, we can do that." Bucky came to them holding a sparkly unicorn. 

"Doggy." 

"That's not a doggy. This is a horsie." Said Steve. Bucky smiled and went back in his corner.

"Should we tell him that a unicorn is a horse with a wings and a horn?"

"No. I just love seeing him explore new things."

"Alright, fair enough. I should also say that this office is being remolded. So we can't use this room for a couple of days, I can do home visits if that is okay?"

"Yeah, that's sounds good. I don't think we have anything planned this week."

"Okay. Just I'll text you that day to let you know what time is good. I'll let you take the toy box with you." 

"Thank you. Bucky, we're about to go. Put your toys back." Bucky put his toys back. Steve put on his harness then picked up the toy box. Bucky tilted his head then looked at Dr. Nicole.

"They are going to remodel the office, so the toys can't stay here. But I want all ten of those stuffed animals back when it's okay to come back to the office." Bucky nodded. They left the building. Bucky tried to get into the toy box, but Steve put the box in the front seat. 

After they got home, Steve let Bucky get a few toys from the box. But after bath time, Bucky still wanted to play with the toys. Steve kept trying to tell him it was bed time.

"Bucky, last time. Put the toys back." Bucky shook his head and played with the stuffed cat's whiskers. Steve sighed and had to move to his last option. Steve took the cat from him and the other two animals forgotten on the floor and put them back in the box.

Bucky looked at Steve, then started to growl. His eyes didn't become Winter Soldier dark, but they still held aggression. 

"Take a deep breath, Buck." Bucky continued to growl. He got up and went to the box. Steve held Bucky by the shoulders.

"They will be here tomorrow morning, Bucky. I promise." Bucky tried again to the box. Steve wasn't letting go. Bucky sat on the ground and started to scream. Steve knew that was coming. Steve got Lamby from his bag and carried Bucky to the bedroom. Bucky's tantrum stopped when Steve offered him Lamby.

"Lamby?"

"Is it okay if she snuggles with you tonight? I think she feels you have neglected her to play with other ones." Bucky's eyes widen then grabbed Lamby and snuggled her. Bucky settled down and watched Paw Patrol.

Steve went in the living room and looked at the behavior chart. He put a sunny cloudy sticker on the chart snd wrote toy box aggression. He went back in the room, Bucky was struggling to stay awake. Steve took the tablet away from him and stroked his hair until he fell asleep. This anger management control was going to take a while.

Two days later, Stev scheduled an appointment with Dr. Nicole upon realizing Bucky's anger was flaring up for no reasons at times. Today, he seemed calm, but Steve was afraid he would go into a meltdown today. Then there was a knock. Steve opened the door.

"Hello, Mr. Rogers, how are you?"

"Good, Bucky's sitting on the couch." Steve let Dr. Nicole in. 

"Good morning, Bucky. How are you? Bucky looked at her then back at the tv.

"How has things been?" Still no response from Bucky. Steve turned off the tv, Bucky looked at him.

"Respect her like we do in her office." Said Steve. Bucky looked at her then laid on his side.

"Okay, let's try that again. How have you been, Bucky?"

"Okay."

"I've heard you had some problems since the last time we met. Care to explain?"

"My toys, daddy take."

"Daddy took your toys away, did you do something wrong?" Bucky shook his head.

"The truth, Buck."

"Didn't put away."

"You didn't put your toys away when daddy told you to. How did that make you feel? Angry?" Bucky nodded.

"And you had a tantrum?" Another nod. Dr. Nicole nodded and talked to Steve for a while. Bucky got his blanket and half finished milk and sat on the couch. Something he wasn't allowed to do. Then he choked up a little of the milk on the blanket. Steve sighed and asked for the blanket.

"No."

"Bucky, it has to be washed."

"Mine."

"Bucky, now." Bucky wasn't giving up the blanket. Steve poked Bucky in a sensitive spot on his stomach and he let go. Bucky cried and tried to grab the blanket back.

"You will get it back at the end of the day." Steve threw the blanket in the wash despite Bucky grabbing his arm. Bucky screamed and started to bite his arm. Dr. Nicole came around the corner and watched them. Steve restrained him and sat him on the ground. Bucky kicked out and tried to get away from Steve, but he wasn't letting go. The screaming stopped until he was just shaking and crying.

"Bucky, what's my name?"

"Daddy."

"Good, where are you?"

"Home."

"That's good. Would you like to take a nap?" Bucky nodded and snuggled into Steve. Steve picked him up and brought him in the living room. Bucky fell asleep on his lap, Steve smiled at Dr. Nicole.

"I think I know what's going on. Resource guarding."

"What is that?"

"It's something dogs can get. But I believe Bucky developed shortly after he left Hydra, I think it's just been magnified since he left agent Rumlow. But resource guarding is when one become protective of the items they consider resource. And Bucky hasn't been able to own anything since Hydra, so he's afraid of things being taken away from him and not able to see it again."

"But he does know I'm going to give the blanket back. I wouldn't keep it from him."

"We also have to factor in that he has been taken of everything he held close after he fell. His identity and his past life is gone, so he would be reasonably upset if something he held close was being taken away."

"Is there something we can do about that?"

"Well, Bucky is guarding the items he needs to function in his daily life. The blanket is his grounding item, so he's upset when it gets taken away. I believe he thinks I gave him the toys to have, which probably wasn't smart on my end. So I'll take the toys back or just leave him with one. But as for other items, I would have a talk with him." Steve nodded as she talked. Things were slowly starting to make sense to him. The soldier was resource guarding when things were being taken away from him. Dr. Nicole concluded that the soldier's aggression was becoming more intense because he doesn't want things to be taken away, thus creating Bucky's sudden anger. And in order for him to properly deal with it, the soldier had to learn how control his aggression towards items. 

Bucky woke up from his small nap a little later. 

"Blankie, please."

"It's in dryer. You can wait thirty minutes." Bucky sighed and chewed on his necklace. Dr. Nicole got up from her chair and sat in front of Bucky.

"Is it okay if I talk to the soldier for a little while?" Bucky hesitated then looked at Steve.

"I'll be right here, I promise." Bucky clung onto Steve then groaned. Steve saw his eyes instantly become darker. He couldn't help but feel a little afraid that he would snap. Dr. Nicole, however, maintained a smiled.

"Nice to see you again. I know our last encounter wasn't exactly friendly." That was over a month ago. Something in the office had triggered the soldier and Steve had to knock him out. Dr. Nicole was shaken up but not hurt. It took them a while to figure out what had triggered him and it turned out to that Bucky had his face near the vents so the cold air had hit him in the face.

"Can I play a game with you?" The soldier only stayed silent but watched her every move. She picked up Lamby to which he started to growl.

"Can I play with her?" Dr. Nicole continued to play with the lamb. The soldier was only becoming more aggravated. The soldier snatched the lamb away and held it. 

"Can daddy play with her?" She asked. The soldier growled. She told Steve to inch his hand toward it. The soldier stared at Steve with aggression.

"You have to learn how to share. Can I see her?" The soldier moved too fast for Steve to react and bit his hand. Dr. Nicole sighed and nodded.

"Okay, can we have Bucky back please?" The change was instant. Bucky looked at Steve's hand then started to tear up.

"Sowwy."

"It's okay, it doesn't hurt. You can go play now." Bucky got off Steve's lap and went to the toy box.

"I don't think he can stop his aggression. Even if we did convince him that we will give it back, he's going to put up a fight before he gives it up."

"So say, if Bucky was an actual toddler with this kind of behavior, would he be able to go to school?"

"No. Most pre-schools will teach children that they need to share. But if they are guarding like he is, they wouldn't accept him. And for elementary schools, they would ask that he be medicated or he not be there at all."

"So that's the option we're at right now, medication?" Dr. Nicole nodded.

"But the good thing is once we keep working with him over the next couple of months, we could lower the dosage and stop them once he learns to share without aggression."

"Yeah, I just hate putting him on so much medicine."

"This is our best chance right now and if he was in school, hitting and biting other children would get him expelled." Steve let that soak in and watched Bucky for a minute, they were lucky that he wasn't an actual toddler or else the situation would be so much worse. Steve nodded, the soldier's guarding wasn't going to be controlled by simply telling him to share. And Bucky had a hard time giving up his stuff anyway, so medication was ultimatley their last option.

"Alright."

"I'll text Dr. Banner about the medicince, hopefully we can see some improvement. I have an appointment in two hours, I must get going. Bucky, can you clean up your toys?" Bucky put the toys away.

"Okay, I have to take these back, but I'm going to allow you to have one toy from there." Bucky frowned, but picked up the sparkly unicorn.

"Doggy."

"That's a horsie, Bucky. Take good care of her please. I'll see you next week." Dr. Nicole left. As much as Steve was hoping not to put Bucky on anymore medication but it was ultimately something that he had to take to control his anger and the soldier's aggression.

Three days later, Bruce was able to make medication strong enough for Bucky, the only side effect being he would be a little sleepy or hyperactive. Bucky didn't like taking the extra pill, but Steve told him he needed something to control his anger. After a few days, Steve could see the difference in Bucky, he wasn't as aggressive but the meltdowns and tantrums still came in full swing. That was nothing Steve couldn't handle.

"Bucky, can I see your Lamby?" Lamby recently suffered a juice spill and needed to be washed. Bucky shook his head then looked at him.

"Buck, now." Bucky shook his head again. Steve sighed and crouched in front of him.

"Okay, I think Lamby needs bath time. Just like how blankie took a bath , we can give her one and when she gets back, she'll be soft and all pretty again. I'm pretty sure Lamby doesn't like having juice on her tummy." Bucky looked at him then smiled.

"Lamby, bath?"

"Yes, would you like to go put her in the special bath?" Bucky nodded. Steve picked him up and brought him to the laundry closet. 

"Okay, put her in there." Bucky put Lamby in washer machine. 

"Now we add this to make bubbles." Steve put in softener and a stain remover. None of this would make bubbles, but Steve didn't have the heart to tell him it wouldn't.

"Okay, turn that to sixty minutes then push that button." Bucky didn't know what sixty looked like so Steve turned the timer to sixty then Bucky pushed the start button. Bucky stared at the spinning thing in the middle, Steve kissed his head then moved him away from the washer machine before he got dizzy.

Steve figured out that if he needed to get the lamb or blanket away from Bucky, he needed to treat them as living things. Even sometimes that didn't work and he had to forcefully take away the items to which gets Bucky into a tantrum.

Speaking of tantrums, Dr. Nicole showed Steve some breathing exercises that they could try before Bucky went into a full tantrum. So if he was crying, they tried breathing exercises to calm him down before he went full tantrum. Steve saw some improvement, but Bucky was a toddler who just screamed out his emotions than rather calm down. That was something they could work on while Lamby enjoyed the rest of her bath.


End file.
